Corruption and cost of energy the most serious problems, President Christodoulides says

President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has said that corruption and the cost of electricity are the two most serious problems that the government has to address in its internal policy.

The President was addressing a 15 September Conference on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy entitled 'Corruption, the main barrier to youth political activism,' organised by the Office of the Commissioner for the Citizen, at the Presidential Palace. The conference was the first of a series of seminars planned to be held on issues related to democracy.

In his address, the President announced that there is a provision, for the first time, for a significant amount in the budget to start an effort to rebrand Cyprus, so as to change its image. 

Furthermore, Christodoulides expressed the belief that "we can become a model country combating corruption".

He explained that for this reason, he invited a team of FBI officials to Cyprus, in order to proceed with the cases related to corruption.

The President noted that the investigative authorities in Cyprus had informed him that in order for the cases to proceed more quickly, the specialized staff should be increased from five to 25-30 people.

He said that if the government had gone ahead with hiring 25-30 people, the procedure might had been completed in 2027, adding that "it was not an option for us, since combating this phenomenon is a priority."

In addition, President Christodoulides expressed his satisfaction with the response of the US authorities. "I'm glad they're here, I'm glad they're contributing to the efforts of our investigative authorities and generally that there's progress," he said.

In his address, the President referred to the rebranding of Cyprus.

With the aim of changing the image that exists for the country internationally, the President announced that for the first time there is provision "for a significant amount in the state budget, starting a great effort to rebrand our country".

The President of the Republic explained that the aim and purpose is not only to address corruption and combat it, demonstrating in practice the zero tolerance towards such phenomena, but also to create "and that is the big challenge" the safety valve for the preservation and protection of legality and transparency.

He also referred to the need for active participation of citizens in the decision-making process.

This need, he said, is important in order to limit the distance that citizens feel from the decision-making process, which, "is a source of the justified questioning of the institutions".

To this end, the President of Cyprus noted, the government has taken concrete actions to address the deficit.

"We have undertaken concrete actions to address this democratic deficit, this great challenge that we have before us". 

If we do not address this challenge, he went on to say, it poses "very serious risks."

(Source: CNA)